Lubricator



F. L. SCOTT. LUBRICATOR. APPLlcAnoN man AuG.21,192o.

Patented Mar. 29, 1921.

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UNITED STATES FLOYD L. SCOTT, OF HOUSTON, TEXAS.

LUBRICATOR.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patuted [313 29, 1921 Application ledAugust 21, 1920; Serial No. 405,181.

To all whom 'it may concern Be it known that I, FLOYD L. Scor'r, acitizen of the United States, residing at Houston, Harris county, Texas,have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Lubricators, ofwhich the following is a full, clear, and exact description, such aswill enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to malteand use the same.

My invention relates to an improvement in lubricato designed especiallyfor usein connection with earth boring drills enr ployed in deep welldrilling. 1

It has been found essential to provide a lubricating means for earthboring drills of the roller type employed in well drilling, and thatsome pressure means must be emploved to force thelubricant from thelubricater to the bearings of the rolling cutters upon the drill inorder to obtain eilieient lubrication thereof. rllhis is due largelyY tothe fact that in the use of earth boring drills flushing water is pumpeddownwardlvr through the drill stem and the bit against the cutters andthe portion of the well upon which the;7 operate, so as to flush the cuttinge awa)T from the drill and carry them in suspension upwardly to thesurface. The drill is. therefore, working constantly in a head of waterand mud which exerts a backward pressure through the bearings againstthe lubricant and it force is not employed upon the lubricant it willnot find its way to the bearings in the manner desired.

fin object of iy invention is to ].)rovidc :i lubricator for use ondrills of thistvpe wherein the pressure of the flushing water will actto force the lubricant to the bearings without danger of the flushingwater and sediment carrried therewith finding its wav with the lubricantto the bearings.

Another object is to provide a lubricator of the type described in whichthe force of the flushing water within the `drill stem will be exerteddirectly against a collapsible container, in which the lubricant isheld, with a practically continuous pressure. Further objects andadvantages will appear in the description which follows.

Referring to the drawing forming a part of this specilication, andwherein a preferred embodiment of my invention is disclosed, Figure l isa central longitudinal section through my improved lubrieator. and Fig.2 is a 'transverse section thereof on the plane 2--2 of Fig,V l. Likenumerals of reference are applied to lilre parts in both the views.

The lubricator disclosed in the drawing is adapted to be used uponroller bits of the type disclosed in the patent to H. R. Hughes, No.1,174,575, patented March 7, 1916. The device comprises a length o pipel, constituting a barrel surrounding the lubricant container, said.barrel being threaded at the lower end for attachment to a coupling 2,said coupling being threaded interiorly at the lower end at 3 forattach` ment to the nipple at the upper end of the drill. The coupling 2has a central channel 4 therethrough, which may be closed b v means of avalve 5, said valve being rotated h vM means of a squared end 6, whichmayY be gripped by means of a wrench.

The upper end of the barrel 1 is threaded to provide attachment for acap 7 said cap fitting over the upper end of the barrel and providedwith a central opening S therethrough to receive the'upperend of theattaching member 9. The attaching member 9 is tubular and has a centralpassage l() therethrough, and closed at the upper end by means cfa capll'. The upper-end of the attaching member ll is threaded to receive anut 'l2 which bears against the upper face of the cap .f\.n annularshoulder l is formed centrally of the attaching member. said shoulderforming with the nut l2, a means to secure the said attaching member tothe cap 7 as 'shown in the drawing. The lower end of the attachingmember has formed thereon annular corrugations 14: for the betterattachment of a collapsible lubricant container 15. Y

The coupling 2 is provided with a countersunl'f-i` threaded recess 2Oinside the lubrieator barrel l, in which recess is screwed a lowerattaching couplingr 16, the upper end of which is reduced in diameterand provided with annular eorrugations 14C to receive the lower end ofthe collapsible lubri cant container l5. At the lower end of thelubricator is seated.

attaching coupling 16, the passage therethroughis preferably covered bymeans of a perforated diaphragm 17, which acts as a sort of strainer forthe lubricant, as will be obvious. f i f T he lubricant container 15 maybe made of rubber hose of durable construction or of canvas or othersimilar material, which must Vbe flexible and also iluid tight andeasily collapsible. rlhe upper end of this container is secured tothetubular attaching` member 9 by any suitable means, but l have shown itas being wound with a strong wire 18 which acts to clench thecollapsible tube against the corrugated surface of the attachingmember.'The lower end is also secured to the lower attaching coupling 16 in thesame manner, the method used being such to provide a fluid tightconnection at both ends of the container. The lubricator barrel 1 has-perforations 19 therein, bothat the upper and lower ends thereof, toallow the entrance to the said barrel of the flushing `4fluid pumpeddownwardly through the drill stem within which this The lower holes areprovided to'drain the barrel when the lubricator is not in use. Y

In the use of this device, the same is screwed at its lower end upon an11p-standing rnipple onthe drill, to which it is to be attached7 thevalve @being closed until it is desired to insert the drill within thewell, at

i whichtime the valve will'be opened to allow the flow .of vlubricant tothe bit. The lubricator is assembled by first screwing the attachingcoupling 16 within the coupling The lubricant container 15 will then besecured flirmly thereto and at its upper end will be attached to theattaching member 9. The lubricatory barrel 1 will then be fixed inposition Yand the Cap'7 inserted downwardly over. the upperend 9 of theattaching meinber and the nut 12 used to tighten the attachinglmemberVfirmly tot-hc cap. rlhe lubricant will be then poured into the upperend of the lubricator chamber and when the device has been filled thecap 11 will. be screwed firmly in position. The device is then ready tobe insert-ed within the well.

Theyflushing. fluid used in rotary drilling operations is pumpeddownwardly through theldrill stem and through Vsmall channels in thedrill against the cutters and the bottom of, the hole. Thepressure ofthefluid within the drill stem is greater than the pressure outside of thedrill stem, due to the force olf-the pump which is stronger within thedrill stem thanA outside thereof. The force'ofthe water. within thedrill stem is exerted through theopenings 19 in the lun bricator barreldirectly'against the sides of the collapsible lubricant container 15,thus acting to exert its pressure directly against the vlubricant withinthe collapsible container, forcing it downwardly through the channel lto the bit. Itis obvious that the water, which is usually accompanied byquantities of mud and sediment, will not bc able to find entrance to thelubricant chamber and can not thus be forced downwardly against thebearings of the drill. At the same time the full pressure of the waterwill be exerted upon the lubricant and will act to drive it downwardlyto the bearings against the pressure of the head of water outside thebearings. The advantages of this type of lubricator over` the old typeof lubricator, having the water pressure exerted directly upon thelubricant or against a piston on top thereof, are readil.7 apparent. Thewater will find entrance, in the old type of lubricator, past the pistonto the lubricator, and thus pass directly to the bearings, but in myimproved type of lubricant container, this action is impossible.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire toprotect by Letters Patent is:

1. A lubricator comprising a barrel, a connecting member in the lowerend thereof, a second connecting member at the upper end thereof, aflexible lubricant container between said connecting members, saidbarrel being perforated to allow hydraulic pressure to be exerteddirectly upon said container.

2. A lubricator comprising a supported barrel, connectingmembers at theupper and lower ends thereof and a compressible lubricant containersecured within said barrel. in fluid tight relation with said connectingmembers, said barrel being perforated to allow the entrance of lluidtherethrough.

3. A lubricator, comprising` a coupling. a perforated barrel attachedthereto, a connecting member at the upper end of said barrel andextending downwardly therein, a second attaching member inside the lowerend of said barrel, and a flexible lubricant container secured to saidattaching members and forming with said attaching members a fluid tightconnection.

el. A lubricator comprising a ilexible tube` means to close the upperend thereof. means outside said tube to support said tube in erectposition and means to attach the lower end thereof to the tool to belubricated.

5. A lubricator comprising a flexible tube closed at one end, a rigidsupporting barrel, and a coupling secured to said tube and barrel forattachment to the tool to be lubricated, said barrel being perforated toadmit hydraulic pressure to the outer surface of the said tube.

6. In a pressure-operated lubricator. a flexible tube for lubricant, aperforated supporting barrel outside thereof, a closure for one end ofsaid tube, and a coupling at the other end for the purpose described.

7. In a hydraulic pressure-operated lubrilllll cator, a flexiblelubricant container, means to support said containerl in extendedposition, whereby the Walls thereof are exposed to Water pressure,meansto close one end b thereof and serving also to attach said container tosaid supporting means, and an attaching means at the opposite end havinga lubricant passage therethrough to the bearins to be lubricated.

FLOYD L. SCOTT.

